Magick & Technology
From Dynasts End
Contents |
[edit] Magick
[edit] Magicite
Common name for stones containing magickal power, or as it is commonly manifest, Mist. There exist varieties: Spellstone, being used for the preparation and working of magicks, Skystone, giving flight to airships, and Memstone, holding fast sounds heard and visions seen, that they might be experienced again. Though their color, shape, and size may differ, these have no bearing on the quality of the stone. Some of the smallest stones are the most powerful, and some of the largest contain only a small amount of Mist, and are as good as useless. It is a property of magicite that it loses its Mist over time, and once spent, a stone's Mist cannot be renewed. Magicite without Mist is mere rock. The ability to manufact magicite of some power has only recently been attained, and this after many long years of research.
[edit] Nethicite
A variety of magicite with the unusual property of absorbing Mist, thereby nullifying the effects of magick. Though there is some mention of nethicite in ancient tomes, it had been lost, or perhaps consumed, with no mention or record appearing for several centuries. Sky pirates call it the magicite of legend. Latterly, methods of manufacting nethicite have been developed in Archades, and at the time of writing, several test samples are in active use.
[edit] Technology
[edit] Electricity
With the discovery and harnessing of electricity, it was suddenly possible to operate devices of a far larger scale than ever before conceived. However, the vast quantity of solid fuel required to generate electrical power, and the development of methods to artificially condense Mist, led to the latter supplanting the former as the dominant usable energy source in Ivalice. Only the most energy-hungry devices still use electricity today.
[edit] Airships
Airborne craft, developed by the moogles centuries ago. They float by the power of skystone, and are given direction and speed by means of propeller or glossair ring. Currently, they are one of the most popular forms of transport in Ivalice, and the skyroutes are comfortably the busiest of the highways linking the major cities. Airships range in size from private yachts to giant military warcraft. Unable to fly in jagd, where skystone is ineffective.
[edit] Terrestrial Conveyances
We all are told at one time or another, but how many of us recall that Ivalice is covered with mimic-germinites? Easy to forget, as they have little impact on living creatures, but any moogle worth his hammer could tell you the horribly corrosive effect the little devils have on the metals most often used for engines and vehicles. All the better for airships, which fly high above the germinite clouds, yet a sorry state of affairs for those who would make their journeys on land. The next time you see a party traveling by chocobo and chocobo-led wagon, you will know why they're the preferred means of overland transport, won't you?
